


The Stark Project

by glowen



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Artist Steve Rogers, Canonical Character Death, Hologram!Tony, Hurt Steve Rogers, I'm Not Over Tony's Death, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Steve Has A Diary, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Yes I Have No Self Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23213269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowen/pseuds/glowen
Summary: Right after returning the stones, Steve comes back exactly to where he is supposed to be. Everything seems to be going well until he receives a box with a huge Stark Industries logo on it.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	The Stark Project

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So, this is my very first SteveTony fanfiction in english, you guys will have to forgive me if I make any mistakes, english is not my mother-language. 
> 
> Well, this is supposed to be about how Steve is clearly not moving on with his life after Tony's death, so I can't tell you guys to expect a happy ending. Let's see this as, Steve trying to move on but then suddenly he got something that will keep remembering him that Tony is dead and he couldn't tell him the things he wanted to. 
> 
> It will be kinda angst but with some jokes, Tony in this fanfiction is going to be the comic relief. 
> 
> Also, about the drawings I used on the paper pages, I found it on Pinterest so unfortunately I couldn't find the artists names, so if you recognize any of the drawings, please let me know who did it so I can credit them! 
> 
> Chapters probably won't be very long, and I'm expecting this fanfiction to have 10 chapters or less. Anyway, I hope you guys like it! <3

[...]

“Hey, we got a little busy here, but we didn't forget what we've talked about. We are going to come by, okay?” That was the very first thing Sharon said right after Steve accepted the group call.   
  


“That’s right, punk.” Bucky added.   
  


Steve sighed. “You don’t need to come here if you don’t want to, guys.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Dodger and I are doing a movie night!” Steve said, smiling while trying to catch the happy dog on camera, both of them were lying down in bed.   
  


“That’s cute, but we are going anyway.” Sharon said with conviction, as Steve rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile.   
  


“And please don't start complaining, or saying, _"I_ _t's fine, guys_ _"_. Do you really think we forgot about what we saw?” James said with an angry tone, but Steve knew he wasn’t _really_ mad at him.   
  


“I _just_ think you guys took that _too_ seriously.” Both Bucky and Sharon rolled their eyes.   
  


“Steve, you were crying in the bathtub.” She said dead serious, making clear that she was _indeed_ worried about the guy.   
  


Steve sighed again. “I already told you. I was taking a bath and got some shampoo into my eyes.”   
  


_“ Were you bathing in full clothing?_ _”_ James replied in a sarcastic voice. Noticing that he didn’t get an answer from Steve, he sighed, regretting his previous behavior. “ _Man_ , I know what you’re going through, I seriously do.” Bucky took a deep breath. “But, if it wasn’t for _them_ , we wouldn’t be here right now.” Again, Steve didn’t say a thing. “In a war, soldiers die, right?”   
  


“I know that.” He finally answered.   
  


“I’m pretty sure they did what they thought was right.” Sharon added, trying to cheer him up. “And they would _never_ regret that.”   
  


“The way as I knew them… they would probably end up doing everything again.” A sad smile filled Steve’s lips.   
  


“Exactly!” She said. “It’s been _6 years_ , Steve. I know it still hurts, but you need to _move on_ , for your own good.” The soft way she said it made him really think he could do it somehow.   
  


“It’s just... “ He bit his lip, no-so-well-hide memories coming back. “It feels so recent.”  
  


“I know, honey.” Sharon whispered sadly, but she kept a tiny smile on her lips. “But you’re strong. You are going to pass through this, and we will be here to help you.”   
  


“We are not leaving you, buddy.” Bucky smiled for the camera. “We are with you till the end of the line.”   
  


Steve smiled softly. “Thanks, guys. It means a lot.”   
  


The bonding moment between friends was coldly cut by a really loud sound of an explosion. Then, Steve noticed that Sam just joined their group-call.   
  


“Zemo is attacking us and you’re guys are doing some facetime thing?!” Samuel said outraged, Steve holded a funny smile.   
  


“You’re Captain America now man, deal with your shit.” Sharon replied, and then Bucky was laughing.   
  


“IF YOU TWO DON’T COME HERE RIGHT NOW-” He started, but James quickly interrupted.   
  


“Stop yelling, we are going!”   
  


“You guys really don’t need to pass by if you’re busy today…” Steve said.   
  


“WE ARE _TOTALLY_ GOING, LET ME JUST STICK THIS SHIELD RIGHT WHERE ZEMO CAN’T REACH!” Sam yelled, and then another loud noise in the background was heard.   
  


_“ Captain America, ladies and gentlemen._ _”_ Steve teased.   
  


“I don’t want to brag, but, I’m doing your job way better than you.” Samuel teased back.   
  


Steve smiled again. “I don’t doubt that.”   
  


“Sam, we need you _right now!_ ” Sharon yelled.  
  


“In on my way!” 

[...]

[...]

“And that was the last one.” He said to himself, wiping some sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of the shirt.   
  


Steve had no idea how he – _surprisingly him_ – had become so tired from carrying a few objects to and fro. But, _perhaps_ , the retirement from his former duty as Captain America had left him _spoiled_ . And, to top it all off, he had no idea of how _many_ useless stuff he used to keep without even noticing.   
  


Maybe he got too attached to the past, and to Steve, it wasn't a big surprise coming from the guy who literally came from the past.   
  


"Now, dust off the shelf." He turned to Dodger, which whimpered, making Steve laugh. “Come on, buddy. It's not like you're helping me here…” He joked, running his hands through the dog's hair, it instinctively stirred, turning its belly up.  
  


He licked Steve's hand, trying to make him give it some affection.  
  


"I think I'm spoiling you." He stroked the animal's belly before getting up again and hearing it whimper. "We'll go for a walk later, I promise." Dodger layed back on the couch as if it was ignoring Steve and he laughed, satisfied.

Steve went back to the bookshelf, putting his hands on his hips and facing it. He needed to clean it up and he knew that it would bring back memories that he was trying hard not to remember, because that still hurted, and there wasn't much he could do to avoid it. He sighed before approaching the fitment to start removing everything that was placed over those six years.  
  


There were ornaments, books that he promised to start – and did not – and some picture frames. Steve ended up focusing on the last option.

  
Anyone would have thrown them away or simply put them in a difficult place to reach, at least until they get over the feelings that looking at those memories would make them feel.  
  


But Steve wasn't anyone.  
  


Before he realized his hand reached for the nearest frame picture, gripping it with strength and dexterity, as if he were afraid to drop it and lose it forever. It was hard to ignore the whirlwind of feelings that that photo brought to him. His trembling fingers reached for the glass, stroking it lightly as if it might bring him some comfort.  
  


Unfortunately, it didn't work.  
  


He took a deep breath, remembering that day. They were at the Stark Tower, all gathered and smiling at the photo that Agent Hill was happily taking with her phone while leaning over so she could get in the camera as well.  
  


Thor wielded Mjolnir with clear pride in his expression, beside him was Rhodes who pointed at the hammer with an expression of boredom, which was easily misunderstood by the sassy smile his lips showed. Right behind, Natasha and Clint hugged each other sideways, while Hawkeye showed his tongue to the camera.  
  


A little bit in the corner, there was Bruce Banner, who didn't look quite as comfortable with the photo, but was trying his best. Ahead Steve was sitting, smiling slightly without showing his teeth. If you looked up a little, you would see two fingers behind his head, which were the fault of the guy right next to him.  
  


He had a wide smile and seemed genuinely satisfied with everything about that night.  
  


It's good to point out the fact that the photo has been taken minutes _before_ they found out about Ultron's existence.  
  


Steve staggered backwards, until he sat on the couch next to Dodger. A long sigh got out his lips as he thought about all those years that had passed since that party at the Stark Tower. What was supposed to be an Avengers farewell party had become a new mission just to prove that the Avengers would always be needed, it didn't matter how much the time had passed.  
  


Looking back, remembering what he and his teammates felt, the fear, the concern about Ultron. They could hardly imagine what awaited them in the future and how much they would end up losing.  
  


It never crossed Steve's mind that he would end up losing more than he had lost during all the years he had spent frozen in the deep ocean.   
  


But now, Natasha wouldn't be back in a minute, and Tony might have gone too far to prove that he was the kind of man that would sacrifice himself for the others.  
  


_Well, he never needed to prove anything to Steve._   
  


Dodger sat on the couch, sniffing the frame in his hand and staring at him as if he knew every single person in that photo. Steve wished that was true, wished they had more time for silly things.  
  


But it was a war, and usually in wars you don't have much time to relax and pretend that there are no people in danger.  
  


He stood up, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, Dodger." The dog whined again. "Some people move on, but not me, I guess." He admitted, being somewhat embarrassed. "Do you think I should write about it in the diary?" Dodger barked in response and Steve smiled softly, stroking the dog's head.   
  


However, the sound of the bell ruined the moment between them, making Steve frown, who could it be so early?   
  


He carefully left the frame on the couch before walking to the door, unlocking it to reveal that no one was there. But he soon noticed the post office truck racing down the street. And when Steve looked down, there was a box.  
  


He opened his eyes wide when he saw the big Stark Industries logo printed in front of it. His curiosity got even bigger when he saw that an envelope was stuck to the top of the box.  
  


He quickly pulled it out, hoping it hadn't damaged anything.

[...] 

[...]

Steve stared at his feet, shocked by the words on the paper he held in his hands. It trembled slightly as he tried to process all that information at once.  
  


What he least needed at that moment was to be reminded of the conflict he had with Tony years ago, but Pepper didn't know that, it wasn't her fault.  
  


As much as they had "left" things behind, the fight that made the Avengers split had left scars that were difficult to forget so easily. It was like that for Steve, and he knew that if Tony were there now, he would likely feel the same way.  
  


He didn't want to think about that, he couldn't think about that. Because Tony wasn’t there so they couldn't solve the issues that they had pretended to forget because it was the best for the team.   
  


Tony wasn’t there, he wouldn’t come back, there was no way to solve it, time was _over_.  
  


Steve took a deep breath, taking the box and getting surprised to find out that it was much lighter than he thought. He quickly closed the door, locking it immediately before placing the box on the kitchen counter.  
  


Then he just looked at it, _thoughtfully_ .  
  
Should I open the box? Wouldn't that be a stupid thing to do? If whatever was in it was something that belonged to Tony, something _made_ by Tony, how could I move on? 

Maybe if he sent it back, Pepper would understand. He also didn't know if he was strong enough to open the box, he really understood her at that very moment.  
  


But, at the same time, Steve needed something that reminded him of Tony. He missed him, _God_ , he missed him _so much_ . He needed Tony, he wanted Tony there with him, by _his_ side.   
  


But Tony couldn't fulfill his wish.  
  


If that box was there, it was because Tony wanted someone to find it, _right?_   
  


It was Tony's wish.  
  


What if Tony was watching him at that moment hoping that Steve would open that box, to see whatever Tony had left on Earth?   
  


What if Steve got against his last wish, against his expectations and no one would ever be strong enough to open the box and reveal what Tony obviously wanted someone to see?   
  


_What if that box was the closest to Tony that he could get?  
  
_

Steve quickly reached for a knife in the kitchen drawer, stuffing it into the box and ripping the ribbon off it without hesitation. He opened it almost desperately, throwing away the pieces of Styrofoam that filled the box until he finally felt something touch his fingers. Something metallic.  
  


"An Arc Reactor...?" He whispered to himself. The round object looked like Tony's first reactor, but it wasn't it. He left it on the counter, looking again inside the box, there should be something else there.  
  


But all he found was a tiny piece of paper. Which had a drawing quite similar to the object that he had seen. In the drawing, a sketchy arrow pointed to the back of that round thing, pointing that there was a button. Steve immediately took it in his hands, looking for the button that was sketched on the paper, then pressing it.  
  


He looked at it expectantly, waiting for something to happen, but nothing changed.   
  


Steve tried to give it some light hits, a long time had passed while he kept doing it, maybe it wouldn't work anymore.   
  


He let out a growl, how could he have been foolish enough to think it would work?  
  


The damage Thanos and his army had done had surely damaged the object, probably breaking it from the inside, it would no longer work, and the only person who could fix it was no longer there.  
  


Steve let out his frustration on the object by throwing it on the counter. "Well, now it definitely won't work." He complained to himself, returning to the couch next to Dodger. "What am I doing, Dodger?" He asked as if the dog could or would respond. "I can't keep doing it, this is killing me." Steve whimpered, throwing his head on the back of the couch and putting both hands on his face.  
  


The dog got off the couch and headed to the kitchen.  
  


Steve laughed bitterly, his voice muffled by his own hands that hadn't left his face yet. "Yeah, thanks for the support, buddy." He joked, as if, once again, the dog could understand.  
  


Somewhere deep in his heart, he still had some hope about the return of Natasha and Tony. They literally time traveled! There's a solution for everything at that point!   
  


Or at least that was what Steve wanted to believe.  
  


Soon Dodger's barkings began to echo through the house, causing Rogers to let out another growl full of frustration. "Dodger, please, I'm trying to rest here." And as usual, he was ignored by the dog, who continued to bark with all the strength he could. "Dodger." He tried to sound a little more harsh, but it didn't help.  
  


He just snorted, getting up in a hurry.  
  


"Dodger, for God's sake-!" He turned toward the dog, but soon interrupted himself when he saw something on his kitchen counter. His eyes quickly widened and he stared at the figure in amazement, as if he had just seen a ghost.  
  


It was a hologram, a _Tony hologram_. A _very_ realistic one.  
  


"What…?" Steve approached, holding out his hand in suspicion. "Another message?" He took another step, getting quite close.  
  


It sure was Tony there, but why did he look asleep? His eyes were closed, his arms were thrown to his sides. A calm expression took over his face and it hurt Steve to think that there were few times that he had seen him as peaceful as at that moment.  
  


His hand came up to touch him- And then the eyes of that hologram suddenly opened.  
  


"Boo!" A yell invaded his ears, making him startle and jump back faster than a cat. Steve felt his heart beat faster and faster with fright and soon laughter was present, making him turn his attention to the hologram once again.  
  


He knew those laughs very well. He knew their _owner_ well.   
  


"I can't believe you fell for that, Rogers." He heard his voice again. "You had to see your face, it was priceless."  
  


"T-Tony?!" Steve thought, but didn't say a thing.  
  


And then he watched the hologram – which had been sitting on the counter before – get up and come down to the floor, looking around, _clearly_ curious.   
  


Soon he started to stretch, yawning. "I was off for almost 7 years, do you know how boring it is in there?" He said with too much emotion for what was just a projected hologram, but it seemed _too_ real. "Just kidding, I had no idea." He made a vague gesture with his hand. “It was like sleeping. I literally just got the acknowledgement of time.” He explained.  
  


Steve walked back calmly, stumbling on the couch and falling as sitting on it, then the hologram followed him, getting in the middle of his legs, while looking at the place with a smile on his face.  
  


"Nice house of yours." He said simple. "Yeah, it totally suits you." Tony added in a funny way.  
  


Steve was unable to formulate a sentence. He scratched his eyes, he was _dreaming,_ he had to! It wasn't Tony there, but... It looked a lot like Tony.   
  


His brain screamed in warning that Steve was going crazy.  
  


And as if the swirl of feelings in Steve's chest weren't enough to deal with, the hologram spoke again. "I died, right?" And that's when Steve crashed, feeling his heart squeeze even more. “Because, if I'm here, it’s because I died. ” He explained it again in that very didactic voice, as he paced back and forth making hand gestures.  
  


 _Just like Tony_.  
  


"I remember making a backup of my consciousness before setting up the gauntlet." He clarified, seeing that Steve looked confused and mostly _shocked_ .   
  


He almost pinched himself to make sure it was all real.   
  


“So, tell me. How was it?" Tony climbed onto the couch, leaving his face almost close to Steve's, who felt his heart beat even faster. “How did I die? Did we win? I bet we did, since you’re here.”   
  


He had a _huge_ smile on his face, he seemed _really_ excited to know.  
  


Steve decided to make the best decision he could think of.  
  


He ran over to the object on the counter, walking through Tony and immediately turning it off.


End file.
